Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Another Episode of Way To Many Bengal Pics!

Here we are, Folks, time for another episode of: WAY Too Many Bengal Pictures!!! Let's go...

Opps. Wrong roll. That is not a Bengal. Bengals rarely kiss anyone on the lips. At least not on a first meeting as Flippy seems to be doing. (Flippy is the Llama. The Kissee is Kerri.)

And here we have, well, not Bengals yet either. From all the fish flying around in bright colours, I'm thinking Delirium. Seems obvious. You never know when one of the Endless is going to photobomb a Bengal post, I guess.

AH, here we are. Madame Mim with slippers. Looking not exactly excited about the shoot. Yet. Steak will change this.

Here Freaky Venus takes the Lead Jammer spot, edging out Magic. (If the phrase "Lead Jammer" and the Star do not ring any bells, you might need to do a quick Google. There will be more Derby Posts. Promise.)

Venus has a suspicious nature. She has a great mistrust for pretty much everything. But she's certain about what she wants. And not afraid to let you know. Sometimes Mim uses her Ray Gun Eyes. She generally gets what she wants too.

We will all turn our Ray Gun Weapons upon you! How dare you surprise us! I shall defend these coats until DEATH. And it will be Yours!!! (One day I will actually clean up the place before getting the whim to do a Bengal shoot.Yeah, those are Grinch PJ's hanging out in the background)

Magic. And Tongue. Told you steak would help this shoot.

I like the way Freaky Venus is more concerned about Magic than the SKELETON ARM HANGING OUT OF THE BATHTUB! Relax, all normal. They don't call it the Spooky House for nothing. And I knew the guy.

I wish I could tell you that this is Art, that was what I was going for, kind of an abstract painting almost, of contrasting Spots and Stripes. Actually, I think I will. Got nothing better. Pretty cool tho, eh?

Little Queen Mab gets ready for some serious photos, with a little scratch while King Lear the Huge remains unconvinced. He has not YET seen the steak. These guys aren't cheap. They don't work for free. They don't much POSE either. And are rubbish about taking direction. Unless steak is tossed that way.

See? There's steak cunningly hidden up there. And King Lear the Huge Knows It. Either that or he wants some tunes.

Not a great Cat Photo, but photography is not one of my skills. (It's ok, I have others, my ego is fine) It is a nice example of three different kind of Bengals, tho. Magic on the left, Spotted, and early Generation, Venus in the middle, a Silver, and Mim, a Marble, more stripes than spots.

I debated a long time when I got this Spooky House about buying Bengal Kittens. They're expensive for one. Start at $600 for a pet kitten, later generation. And there are so many animals in rescue, why do this?

I found out why after I got Venus and Mim, from two different breeders. Venus's breeder was shut down by animal control, for horrible conditions. (Mim came from a responsible breeder.) Shortly after that, I found out about Bengal Rescue, and just how many of these Kitties were being given up because people either had to for whatever reason, and shelters will not take them, or they didn't do their homework, and didn't know what they were getting. Couldn't handle them.

I started fostering, and helping find new homes for Bengals, working with Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. Having Venus and Mim, I knew these cats. Knew what they needed, and how to help them. Then I got Fosters Magic, and Lear, both Early Generation, more Leopard than domestic cat. (Mab is Lear's bonded friend, no splitting up a pair. Bengals BOND, with eachother and their people) No homes for them. Can't happen. Me or sanctuary, where they would have to live in a cage, but would be alive. Nope. Couldn't do it. So I have five Bengals.

An F1 kitten like Magic was would start at $2000.

Please, if you have a chance, tell this story, if you hear of someone wanting an early gen Bengal, tell them: Don't Do It, unless you know what you're doing. They aren't pets. They Are Not Cute Little Kitties With Spots. If you hear someone who might want a later gen Bengal, tell them to do their home work. Know what you are getting into

And call us at Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. We have lots waiting for homes who WILL make very good pets.

There, that's my piece. If they cross my path, I will save them.

And if you do decide to bring one into your home, and they are the kitty for you:

You will never, ever, regret it.

I kind of just want to ask for captions for this last shot of Little Queen Mab....There's so much there.

Oh, so beautiful!! I know I am not a bengal parent. I need an outdoor cat that is ok with being ignored for hours on end.

We are cat-less for the first time in 19 years. It is strange but somewhat freeing for now. I know we'll get ben a kitten, maybe next year...we'll know when it's time. He wants a grey cat to name Elephant.

I'm so glad there are people out there like you and all the other dedicated bengal (and all other rescue animal) fosters and owners.

"TemperamentAfter three generations from the original crossing, the breed usually acquires a gentle domestic cat temperament;[1] however, for the typical pet owner, a Bengal cat kept as a pet should be at least four generations (F4) removed from the Leopard Cat. The so-called "foundation cats" from the first three filial generations of breeding (F1–F3) are usually reserved for breeding purposes or the specialty pet home environment.

and I was wondering what exactly is a "specialty pet home environment" ??

I meant to say this on the Magic post a few days... or weeks? back. Seeing Magic and Venus and Mim all hanging out and living happily together is wonderful. The three of them are amazing: Magic, because he's learned to trust not only you, but other creatures. And Venus and Mim, because they've taught their new flatmate how to be a kitty.

Quiche, I so love you and your Bengals. It is happy making coming here.

Siri - you rock alright.

Not much scope for sensible words here - I am totally worn out after the second day of going to the hospital to see mum. Public transport stinks. A trip that would take 25 mins tops in a car takes and hour and a half on PT. *sigh*

I've recently got an F4 silver/marble female who is beautiful, and thankfully seems to be settling in fine.

In the UK the prices for Bengals have dropped massively over the last eighteen months or so. I suspect it's because they're so popular, the people who were breeding them for profit have over-saturated the market and are now losing money on the deal.

What saddens me though is that we don't seem to have anywhere like Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. I can see it being more of a necessity now, if there are more Bengals than demand...

Hi Pattirose! I think a Specialty Home for EG Bengals would be with someone who knows what they are ding. They are very shy kitties, they love playing in water, you can't look them in the eye, or challenge them, they can have pee and marking issues, and it's also rare for them to be able to mingle with other kitties.

Yikes, Quiche. Take it easy today..didn't concuss yourself, did you? Unfair of bad dreams to do real damage.

Cat here is pissed at me because I have the heat turned way down so the bit of oil in tank will last till they deliver more. Don't know what HER problem is, she's got fur! Of course, our cold snap is only in the 20s F...

Except: last night? Over on Twitter I had the impression that this all happened like an hour ago. If it's still swollen and bleeding after more hours than that you maybe ought to get it checked out, Q. Call that home-visiting doc or something. Don't drive yourself anywhere till you're sure you're not concussed.

You did mention it... I have been worrying. Glad you are home and glued and okay, but please give yourself a couple of days respite from flinging yourself at the world. FIT works best when your head works, too! And bouncing your brain inside your skull takes time to recover from.

I am stoking up the fire here, as they still haven't brought the oil I ordered on Monday. Haven't run out yet. Good thing we have mucho firewood.

I also am already married. Mr. Jess would have to agree to come along, and we'd probably have to convert your basement into a giant server room. With your flooding problem, I'm not sure that will be possible.

I am rather glad you didn't do more damage to yourself! The nurse looking after Mum told us on Wednesday that we wouldn't believe how many falls sheets cause - and wham, you fall and split your head! Huh.

Dabbler, I have a car - the problem is my capacity for driving peaks at about 20 minutes in easy local traffic, because of my health issues. Normally Pete would drive me, but he hasn't had sleep overnight much this week because of Restless Legs,so I've had to PT it.

I am so excited that my favorite vegan cookbook writer has come out with a new book that focuses on healthy eating and after-work-friendly recipes! To make it even better, the introduction rocks! I think this link will get you to the Amazon preview, so you all can read it. Isa says a lot of the things we've talked about here, with her typical Isa-spunk.

In short, I am *so* prepared to cover the cooking for Lorraine's harem.

No one of my wives has to clean. Spooky Teen takes care of that. You just have to provide sympathy when I , you know, split my skull open.

We can get a bigger house. Got my eye on one up the street. REALLY cool Victorian, 6 bedrooms, 7 FULL baths. Outdoor spiral staircase to the finished attic. Owners can't seem to sell it, and the price is now less than mine was...

Obviously we will need some bunkbeds then Q. I'll help with the cooking, and Bengal entertainment.

The situation with my mother and the treatment of her spine has turned into a total comedy of errors today. She didn't get the steroid injection in her spine because the patient transport took her to the wrong hospital. WTF? This for a 76 year old diabetic woman who had been fasting since 10pm the night before!

Q, do you think Boss would lend you to me for a few days to get all of this in order?

Oh no! I missed wife comments due to my hacking my own computer to make it do my bidding (something I've had to do wayyy to often because it crashed a while ago). I want to be in on the flurry of proposals! I'm good with computers, and I make a mean roast. I am also cool under pressure when people split their heads open and am handy with a hugging arm. My crush is moving to Boston, so I have no current wife interests holding me in New Orleans, but I will have to at least keep a winter home here.

Fellow Fiends. I think we should make this out mission for the next 24 hours. Make sure our leader stays snuggled under the covers. I'll just nip in and put one of the Underworld DVD's on to keep her occupied.

Sevenful bathrooms sounds delightfully exotic, actually. And I'd be more excited abut the prospect of SOMEONE ELSE cleaning them. I've got two...and no one else to clean them but me. Despite the odd fact that several other people utilize them...

Hi, pattirose, Lyle, and Shantra! Welcome to Fiendom! As Fiends, you each get a nice white buckled jacket. Over on that table, you'll find all sorts of supplies so that you can personalize your jacket. :)